Upcoming show in Seattle

My work will be in a show during the SNAG conference in Seattle this month. It's called "Art by Attrition" and it's at KOBO at Higo gallery. The theme of the show is artwork made by the subtractive process. The show will be May 26th - June 25th, 2011.

random things

I have been busy and had a lot of things on my mind lately and haven't really been giving much thought to writing posts about what I am working on.

I got the CMAG Spring 2010 newsletter today. I found out it was my copper vessel that got honorable mention in the members exhibition. They have posted photos of the exhibition on Flickr.

Last Monday I made an announcement about a major change that will be happening soon, but by Tuesday I found out there would be a delay, so I took down that post. So if anyone read that and is wondering what happened, I will still be doing what I said, just a few weeks later.

CMAG Members Exhibition

The CMAG Members Exhibition is up till March 14th at the Lill Street Art Center. I got an email last week about how the show was going. I didn't win one of the three best in show awards, but me and two other people had work chosen for "special merit." I don't know which piece of mine it was.

These are the pieces I am showing:

Vessel #6. 2008.


An untitled brooch from 2007.


Untitled aluminum and ebony brooch. 2010.
I just realized I forgot to finish posting the process photos for this piece. I'll post them later, I'm not in the mood to do that right now.
I had a lot of trouble photographing this piece and was planning to re-shoot it. Now that I look at the photo it doesn't look so bad, but other people who saw the photo first, and then saw the piece said the actual piece looks much better than in the photo. So I don't know what I should do about it cause I'm not sure I can photograph it better.

miscellaneous

There was an earthquake here in Illinois a few days ago. It shook the house for a few seconds. There were two earthquakes while I lived in California, and this felt the same, so the first thing I thought was that it was an earthquake, but then I thought no, there's no earthquakes in Illinois. Apparently this is the 3rd one since 1999. It's the first one I have been aware of.

Progress Tool has closed down. That sucks. But I rarely ordered from them and I only went there once or twice when I lived in California.

Thursday I dropped off three pieces at the Lill Street Art Center in Chicago for the CMAG members exhibition. The exhibition opens February 19th at Lill Street and is up till March 13th.


The exhibition is not juried and is open to all CMAG members so I am really curious about what the overall quality will be. I would really prefer it be a juried exhibition. I'm probably not going to go see it. I hate driving up that direction.

This year's CMAG swap meet is March 6th at The Art Center Highland Park. I haven't decided if I will participate or not. Last year I sold a lot of tools I don't use anymore, but I don't know if I have enough stuff to make it worthwhile this year.

exhibitions and competitions

Several days ago I submitted my entry for an exhibition called "To Be: (Determined) - An Exhibition of the First Five". The entry fee was $30. That's pretty average. Most entry fees are around $25 - $40. Since I have kept copies of almost all my exhibition and competition entries since 2005, when I started entering them on a regular basis, I decided to add them all up and see what I have spent entering these things... $915 on entry fees since 2005. Before 2005 I only entered a few things and I don't have copies of the entry forms anymore, but I would guess they totaled around $100.

Those entry fees have really added up. And those numbers don't even include shipping costs for the work if it's accepted. I wonder if they are worth it? What do I get out of these exhibitions and competitions? That is something I have been thinking about a lot this year, cause many of these exhibitions don't seem to be worth it. You get exposure for your work, and hopefully a catalog of the exhibition is published. Ego boost or ego crush, depending on if you are accepted or not. That is the other downside to entering, in addition to losing money, I feel pretty bad when I am rejected. But it is kind of addicting to enter them. I have a hard time not entering a show if my work fits the theme. Entering exhibitions and competitions is the closest I get to gambling.

Mesa 30th Annual Contemporary Crafts

My struggle photographing my bronze vase paid off- it was accepted in the Mesa Contemporary Arts' 30th Annual Contemporary Crafts exhibition. 58 pieces from 39 artists were selected from 482 pieces submitted. The exhibition will be from January 23, 2009 - March 15, 2009 at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, AZ.

5x5x(5)

I found out today that I got in the exhibition 5x5x(5). My friend found out last week that she was accepted, since I hadn't heard anything I thought I must have been rejected.

The requirements for the work being submitted is that is must not be bigger than 5"x5"x5". Most of my work was eligible. I hope they make a catalog, I want to see what kind of work was selected.

CraftForms 2008 part 2

I emailed one of the CraftForms organizers Saturday about which piece was accepted. I got a reply today. It was this copper vase, which is what I thought.

CraftForms 2008

I just found out today that I was accepted in the CraftForms 2008 exhibition. Of the 711 entries, 109 pieces by 94 artists were chosen.

I am very happy to get in because they have rejected me twice before, in 2005 and 2006. In 2007 I didn't enter cause I didn't have any good work available to enter.

Embarrassingly, I have done it again with the untitled pieces. They have told me my entry Untitled was accepted.... both my pieces were untitled. I did this with Cheongju last year too. And even mentioned it in this blog and said I should start titling my work for this reason. But I am pretty sure I know which piece was accepted.

Taboo Studio show

This is from the Taboo Studio website:

TABOO STUDIO PRESENTS

NEW ARTISTS
NEW DIRECTIONS

Belle Brooke Barer, Sana Doumet, Janice Ho, Casey Miller, Erica Molinari, Victoria Moore, Red Circle Metals, Jon Ryan, Sandra Wrightson, Genevieve Yang

This summer we are proud to introduce an entirely new group of jewelers to the gallery. Taboo is always on the lookout for the unusual to add to the familiar, and these artists fit the bill. Gold and silver, diamonds and pearls, these are some of the usual precious materials utilized in fine jewelry. This group gets creative working with these old favorites along with less typically used materials such as aluminum, brass, ebony, rubber, and steel. The designs run the gamut as well, from traditionally inspired to modern, and embellished to minimalist.

August 15, 2008 - September 26, 2008
OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY, August 15th 6-8pm
Please join us for a glass of wine and the opportunity to view stunning handmade jewelry by a fabulous new group of artists.

SEE THE SHOW ANNOUNCMENT

I really didn't want to stop working on the copper vase before it was finished. I didn't want to have one more almost finished piece, but one of the reasons I put it on hold was to do a commission. Now that that's done I have to finish some things for the show at Taboo Studio. The show opens August 15th, but they need the work by August 5th.

Lately I have a problem with focusing on what needs to be done. For example, I have to finish some things for this show in August, but I would rather work on things that are not for the show. Once I have sent my work to the show and can work on the things I want to do now, I will probably want to start on something else instead.

And I still have my problem of having too many unfinished pieces. I tend to drag things out if I don't have a real deadline for them. Occasionally it's because I lose interest in a piece for what ever reason, like maybe its not turning out the way I expected and I start to feel like it's a waste of my time. But more often I procrastinate because I don't like the step of the process I am at.

I have to finish some of those unfinished things if I want to have anything to enter in the exhibitions and competitions coming up this Aug and Sept.

Still Putting the Band Back Together

The exhibition Putting the Band Back Together, which I am participating in, will be at the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, GA, Aug 23 - Nov 2, 2008.

I haven't worked much on the new brooch since my last post about it. I need to design and carve the back of it, anodize it, and make the pinback. I am kind of stuck with the design for the back. I want to do something different from the front, but not totally different, and not something that is going to take longer to carve than the front.

I will be in a show at Taboo Studio in San Diego in August. I have started working on a couple pieces for that already. I do not want to wait till the last minute like I usually do with these things.

no news

I haven't abandoned this blog, there's just nothing to write about. I have been working on my scale necklace a little, and I have some brooches I am working on. I had an idea for another brooch today, I should probably do a sketch before I forget.

I got my pieces back from the exhibition Close to the Skin. I don't know anything about that exhibition. I don't know who was in it, aside from a few people I know. I didn't get a catalog, I didn't get a postcard. At least I got my work back.

Putting the Band Back Together

I just found out my ring got into the juried exhibition "Putting the Band Back Together," which will be up at the Savannah College of Art and Design Feb 22- March 9. The reception is March 7 during the SNAG Conference.

ring show

There is a juried exhibition coming up called The Ring Show: Putting the Band Back Together, that will be up at the same time as the SNAG Conference this year. Entries are due soon: Jan 24th. This is the prospectus.

I am working on a new ring for that. In the past rings were my favorite thing to make, and it seemed good designs came to me easily. Eventually I forced myself to stop making so many rings and make some other things instead. Now I am finding it difficult to come up with a good ring design. I think the design I settled on is ok, I don't think it's my best work, but I needed to start on something if I am going to finish it in time to enter it in the exhibition.

Wearable Expressions

I got 3 pieces in to Wearable Expressions, which is a juried international jewelry and fiber exhibition. It will be from Feb 22- April 20 at the Palos Verdes Art Center in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

These are the pieces that will be in the exhibition:







I am thinking about going to the opening Feb 22nd. Yesterday it was exactly 3 years since I left California. I miss it. I think this would be a good excuse to take a trip there. I will think about it some more.

2007 Itami Internatonal Craft Exhibition

A few days ago I got the catalog from the 2007 Itami International Craft Exhibition at The Museum of Arts and Crafts - Itami, in Itami, Japan. I had 3 pieces in the exhibition. Its an annual exhibition, the theme this year was jewelry. I mostly like the other work that was in the exhibition, but I wish they had printed what some of these pieces are, brooch, pendant, etc. Some of these things I have no idea what they are.

The exhibition was up from the end of Oct till the end of Nov. I wish it had started a month earlier, cause I went to Japan, not too far from Itami, in Oct after I was in Korea for the Cheongju Craft Biennale.

They rephotographed the work for the catalog. This is a scan of the photo of my work from the catalog:

close to the skin

I found out yesterday that I got 3 pieces into a juried jewelry exhibition called Close to the Skin. It will be held at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, Jan 24- Feb 23. These are the pieces that got in: